In the upcoming Fall 2021 anime season, one of the shows will be WIT Studio’s next anime – Ranking of King (Ousama Ranking). Although a bit unusual, it has an interesting artstyle and, unlike their last 2 shows, it is not an original anime. Let’s see what to expect!
Ranking of Kings, or Ousama Ranking, is originally a Japanese web manga series by Sousuke Touka. It was first serialized online via Echoes’ user-submitted Manga Hack website in May 2017, and it is still ongoing. Enterbrain publishes the print tankobon volumes, and the series has 11 as of August 12, 2021. The story follows a young boy who strives to be the world’s greatest king, and you can read the synopsis:
The story centers around Bojji, a deaf, powerless prince who cannot even wield a children’s sword, and so as the firstborn son, he strives hard and dreams of becoming the world’s greatest king. However, people mutter about him behind his back as “a good-for-nothing prince” and “no way he can be king.”
Bojji is able to make his first ever friend, “Kage” (shadow)—a literal shadow on the ground who somehow understands Bojji well. (Kage is a survivor of the Kage assassin clan that was all but wiped out. Since no longer a killer, Kage now makes ends meet by stealing.) The story follows Bojji’s coming-of-age as he meets various people in his life, starting with his fateful encounter with Kage.
You can watch the trailer:
Bojji – Minami Hinata
Kage – Ayumu Murase
Daida – Yuki Kaji
Hilling – Rina Satō
Dormas – Takuya Eguchi
Bevin – Yōji Ueda
Apis – Hiroki Yasumoto
Drushi – Hinata Tadokoro
Hokuro – Daiki Yamashita
Boss – Kenta Miyake
Shiina – Takako Honda
Magic Mirror – Maaya Sakamoto
Death-har – Yoshimitsu Shimoyama
Death-par – Takahiro Sakurai
Yousuke Hatta directs the anime, with Taku Kishimoto in charge of supervising the script. Atsuko Nozaki is the chief animation director and also in charge of character design. MAYUKO composes the music, and Yūji Kaneko is the the art director. The studio in charge of the production of Ranking of Kings is Wit Studio. Having animated the first 3 seasons of Attack on Titan, MAPPA took over, and WIT Studio went on to do different things. Starting with Vinland Saga, they also did Great Pretender. Their latest show was Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song-, which our fans voted as the best new anime of Spring 2021.
King Gnu performs the show’s opening theme “BOY”, while Yama performs the ending theme “Oz.”
Funimation will stream Ranking of Kings, and episode 1 is titled “The Naked Prince” and will premiere on October 15. The preview were released on the official website.
The official Twitter also has a preview trailer for episode 1, which you can watch below:
While we wait 2 more weeks for Bojji and Kage, you can check out what fans anticipate most this season.
Also read:
Funimation Fall 2021 Anime Lineup
Netflix Fall 2021 Anime Lineup
Crunchyroll Fall 2021 Anime Lineup
Sources: Funimation YouTube, Ranking of Kings Official Twitter & Website
© SousukeTOKA, KADOKAWA / Ranking of Kings animation film partners